Commods pull FTSE up 0.5 pct; record run on course

* Miners, oil majors up as commodity prices rise

* Media climbs; Pearson jumps after H1

* Bank sector main drag

* Defensives weak; Rexam falls on likely fund-raising

By Jon Hopkins

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index gained 0.5 percent by midday on Monday, on course to extend its winning run to a record-equaling 11th straight session as strength in commodity issues and media offset weakness in defensive stocks.

By 1049 GMT, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was 22.86 points higher at 4,599.47 points after closing at a 6-1/2 month peak of 4,576.61 points on Friday.

"After proving to be a ceiling for so long, many are hoping that the 4,500 level will now become the floor to any weaknesses, with dips back to here expected to tempt out fresh buyers," said David Jones, chief market strategist at spread betters IG Index.

The index has risen almost 11 percent over the past two weeks on reassuring U.S. corporate earnings results, and is up over 32 percent since a year low hit in March. It would equal the last longest winning run, which was between December 2003 and January 2004.

Oil majors added the most points to the index as crude prices rose to $68.50 on brighter economic prospect. BP , Royal Dutch Shell , and Tullow Oil added between 1.1 and 1.8 percent.

Miners were also up, with Antofagasta , Anglo American , BHP Billiton , Eurasian Natural Resources , Kazakhmys , Rio Tinto and Xstrata ahead between 0.5 and 2.6 percent.

Platinum miner Lonmin stood out, up 3.7 percent as Goldman Sachs upped its rating to "neutral" from "sell".

Pearson was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 9.4 percent after the publishing group said it was trading ahead of expectations which allowed it to stick to its full-year outlook. [ID:nLQ16599]

Elsewhere within the media sector, BSkyB , Reed Elseview , Thomson Reuters and WPP climbed between 0.3 and 3.2 percent.

Lloyds Banking Group gained 4.0 percent as Nomura raised its rating to "buy" from reduce" in a review of the UK banking sector. Royal Bank of Scotland gained 2.2 percent.

However, overall the banking sector was the main drag on the blue chips as heavyweight HSBC shed 0.6 percent, while Barclays lost 1.6 percent.

REXAM TINNED

Rexam was the biggest blue chip faller, down 9.2 percent after the world's biggest can maker said it was considering a rights issue and trading has not improved since the first quarter.

Brewer SABMiller shed 0.7 percent as RBS cut its rating to "sell" from "neutral" in a cautious review of European beverages. Drinks peer Diageo fell 0.9 percent also reflecting a switch out of defensive issues.

Tobacco stocks suffered a similar fate, with British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco losing 0.2 and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Food retailers were also weak, with Tesco , J.Sainsbury , and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets down 0.7 to 1.4 percent.

Sainsbury started selling non-food products on the Internet on Sunday as part of its growth strategy centred on expanding beyond its core grocery offering. [nLQ673731]

Britain's economy will grow just 0.5 percent next year and 1.5 percent in 2011, meaning it will take far longer to recover than in previous recessions, business firm Deloitte said in its latest quarterly review. [ID:nLQ480900]

Meanwhile, house prices in England and Wales were flat for a third consecutive month in July, causing the year-on-year decline to slow to 7.7 percent from 8.7 percent, property data company Hometrack said, warnings that a recovery in house prices could be a long way off. [ID:nLO264117]

June U.S. new home sales numbers will be a focus later, with the consensus forecast for a rise of 0.36 million, up from 0.342 million in May. (Editing by Mike Nesbit)